Aston Villa have reportedly emerged with an offer for Charles De Ketelaere and Milan are open to accepting a slighter better deal, but Apollo Heyes asks if giving up on the Belgian talent would be a mistake.
The 22-year-old joined the Rossoneri last year from Club Brugge in a deal worth around €35m total, being a primary target of former directors Paolo Maldini and Frederic Massara. He signed a five-year contract with the club, understood to be worth around €2m net per season plus add-ons.
It would be fair to say that De Ketelaere didn’t live up to expectations in his debut season with Milan. The Belgian forward only provided one assist in 1480 minutes of action across 40 total appearances, looking a shadow of the player that emerged at Club Brugge.
Rossoneri faith in the 22-year-old is at an all-time low, with many supporters happy to see reports that he could be sold this summer. Even the club have started to lose trust in De Ketelaere and are open to offers, receiving a proposal from Aston Villa worth around €25m. They are asking for €30m, needing to earn at least €28m in order to avoid capital loss.
Selling De Ketelaere this summer could be a serious mistake for Milan. Whilst it’s true that he was more phantasma than trequartista last season, it wouldn’t be the first time for a young player at a new club failing to hit the mark in his debut year, something the Rossoneri should understand well.
Sandro Tonali, whilst playing in an entirely different position, also struggled to impress during his first season at Milan and even had to lower his wages in order to make the loan move permanent at the conclusion of that year. The club held faith, and we all know what happened next.
De Ketelaere proved his natural abilities with a football during his final season at Club Brugge and it’s unfair to expect him to immediately replicate those qualities in a more difficult and tactical league. Furthermore, at 22 he’s moved to a new country and is learning a new language, making it difficult for him to integrate as easily as players like Tonali did.
The 22-year-old Belgian forward has seemingly remained professional throughout his first year in the Lombardy capital, quietly working hard to try and break into Stefano Pioli’s squad, and giving him another chance next season could allow him to turn things around and start showing why Maldini and Massara wanted him so much.
No one can know. Only time will tell.
Giving him another chance OR lending him out would be the safe choice but I guess Milan need the money NOW because the team is incomplete and still need more quality players, and they won’t come cheap.